TORONTO: The Canadian dollar was marginally weaker against its US counterpart on Thursday in extremely light US Thanksgiving Day trading as crude prices sank to 50-month lows ahead of OPEC's announcement on next year's crude output levels.
Ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries were not expected to cut production levels at their meeting in Vienna, according to sources close to the cartel. The announcement was due at 10:00 a.m. EST (1500 GMT).
Mark Chandler, head of Canadian fixed income and currency strategy at Royal Bank of Canada, said this year's drop in oil prices has not hurt the Canadian dollar as much as other currencies.
"We've been lucky, or insulated, from the oil prices. We've been given the benefit of the doubt," Chandler said.
At 9:35 a.m. EST (1435 GMT), the Canadian dollar was at C$1.1250 to the greenback, or 88.89 US cents, a little weaker than Wednesday's close of C$1.236, or 89.00 US cents.
Trading is thin due to the US Thanksgiving holiday, however, and this could exaggerate any market reaction to OPEC, Chandler said.
"If there's a surprise it could definitely influence Canada," he said.
Canadian government bond prices were mostly higher across the maturity curve with the two-year up 1 Canadian cent to yield 1.035 percent and the benchmark 10-year rising 18 Canadian cents to yield 1.915 percent.
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